Last.



F. L. ALLEY.

LAST.

APPLICATION FILED HB. 11 1916.

Patented July 25, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

F. L. ALLEY.

LAST.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11, 1916.

Patented July 25, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wyn/717 FREDERICK L. ALLEY, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JEBSEY,'A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

LAST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1916.

Application filed February 11, 1916. Serial No. 77,762.

T0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK LI ALLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of h Massachusetts, have invented certain Tmprovements in Lasts, of which the following description, in connection with the accom panying drawings, is a Sp6C1fi(}&t10I1, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes, particularly welt shoes.

In some factories it is the custom to make welt shoes on a last which remains in the shoe through the several making operatlons until the shoe reaches the finishing room, while ,in other factories it is the practice to withdraw the last temporarily during the heeling operation and then to return the same last or a filler last to the shoe in order to complete the making operations. A last upon which heeling is to be done must be particularly strong and consequently more expensively constructed than a last WhlClllS not required to undergo the stresses of the heeling operation and it has been found that even the strongest lasts heretofore produced are not satisfactorily durable, while they are heavy and conse nently hard for the operator to handle. 11 the other hand, if the last is removed for the heeling operation the reinsertion of the same last is very difficult and is liable to strain and distort the shoe, the materials of which, at this stage of its manufacture, have not become permanently set to the shape of the last. The use of a smaller last as a follower entails disadvantageous variations from the contour given the shoe by the original last. Moreover, in the case of the cheaper grades of shoes, the loss of time involved in removing and reinserting lastsis a material consideration.

The object of my invention is to provide a last by the use of which substantially the advantages of both systems, as well as other advantages, may be secured and the disadvantages of both systems avoided.

A feature of my invention is a. last having a longitudinally continuous sole portion and a removable heel block whereby the advantages of heeling off the last are secured without sacrificing those of keeping the fore part of the last under lasting pressure in the shoe.

Another feature of my invention is a last having a fore part, a removable heel block and a strut for engaging the heel portion of theshoe to hold the fore part of the last firmly in position.

These and other features of my invention, comprising certain arrangements-and combinations of parts, will be explained in the following specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure l is an. elevation partly in section of the last, Fig. 2 is a perspective showing the last with the heel block removed, Fig. 3 is a broken away view of the heel block, Figs. 4 and 5 are views of another embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 6 is a View of a locking device.

Theforepart 1 has firmly attached to it a heel plate 2. This plate is of sufficiently strong and heavy construction to withstand the blow of the heeling machine and is to be fastened to the forepart 1 in any suitable manner. As shown in the drawings, the forepart 1 has a kerf cut in its rear face into which fits a rib 3 which is shown as integral with the plate 2. The rib 3 is anchored in the forepart by means of suitable rivets 4; and projects beyond the rear face of the forepart as at 5. A'slot 6 making an acute angle with the rear face of the forepart 1 is formed in its rear edge and a shoulder8 is made near the upper end of its rear edge. The heel plate has a keyhole slot 9 in its upper face below which is a cavity 10. The

pin 12 in its lower face adapted to seat within the circular portion 13 of the keyhole slot 9 when the heel block is in position upon the heel plate and has a mortise 14 in its front face, across the middle portion of Which extends a pin 15- adapted to engage with the notch 6. The upper portion of the mortise contains the spring pressed catch 16 which is adapted to engage under the shoulder 8. A pin 17 holds the catch in position when the heel block is removed. When the heel block is joined to the forepa'rt the pin 15 runs down the notch 6 drawing the forepart and the heel block tightly together because of the convergence of the notch 6 toward the rear face of the forepart and the pin 12 enters the hole 13, thus holding thetwo parts of the last firmly together.

The manufacture of the shoe is conducted in the ordinary way upon the last until the heeling operation is reached, at which time, by pressing back the catch 16 the heel block 11 can be slid out ofthe shoe. The heel plate 2 being rigidly connected with the forepart, holds the forepart firmly in the shoe and maintains the vamp under undisturbed lasting tension. The heel plate 2 may then be applied in any convenient manner to .the heeling jack, as for instance, by being laid upon a plate carried by the jack,

and the heel attached, the process of setting or acquiring permanently the-shape of the last continuing uninterruptedly. The

jack may carry a pin, if desired, tc engage the hole 13 in order to insure proper centering and avoid the danger of cutting the lining by crushing it between the heel plate 2 and the jack The heel block may then be returned to the shoe if desired, without difiiculty, since no movement of the forepart has'encroached upon the space it occupied, and the remaining operations may be performed. When it is desired to remove the last entirely from the shoe the heel block may be removed as before and a key insert, ed in the keyhole slot 9 and turned into the lateral part of the recess 10, which will enable the forepart and heel plate to be easily pulled from the shoe. It will be noticed that the heel plate, although sufficiently heavy to stand the stresses which will be applied'to it, is not thick enough to reach to the bulge 18 so that ample room will be afforded for the last to turn and move backward in coming out of the shoe.

In the form of the last shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 the heel plate is shown as a rim 18 which is hinged to the forepart at 19.

The rim is so thin horizontally that it does notcover that portion of the insole in which the heel nails are driven but has suflicient strength to hold the forepart firmly in the forepart of a shoe under lasting -tension. The heel block 20 is rabbeted upon its lower edge at 21 to fit on and within the rim 18. The block 20 can be removed as before described and the heeling operation can be performed upon a jack having a top plate which just fits in the opening 22 of the rim. The hinge at 19 is so formed that the rim 18 can be turned up toward the forepart. 1 but cannot be turned down beyond the position shown in Fig. 4. It is plain that it will hold the forepart 1 in the shoe in the same way as does the heel plate 2. In case the rim 18 fails to maintain its extended position in the shoe, a locking device as shown in Fig.

i 6 may be adopted. The ear 23 of the hinge joint is bored out to receive a ball 24 which is permltted to extend beyond the inside face of the ear but is restrained by a'lip at my invention secures the advantages obtained by the use of hinged lasts. It will also be clear that the rims 18 and blocks 20 can readily be made interchangeable with foreparts of different styles. The manufacturer is thus put to the expense of securing new foreparts only as'the styles change.

It will thus be .seen that I have provided a last which is light and easy to handle and at the-same time is not liable to have its heel portion shattered byrepeated shocks of the heeling machine, while at the same time it undisturbedly holds the upper of the shoe under lasting tension.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent "is 1. A last having a longitudinally continuous sole portion and a removable heel block, adapted.to engage the inside of the counter of a shoe and constructed and arranged to uncover, when removed, a surface for engagement by the heeling machine.

2. In a last, a forepart, a heel plate attached to said forepart, and a heel block adapted to engage the inside of the counter of a shoe and removable from the heel plate While the latter remains/in the shoe thereby uncovering a surface for engagement by the heeling machine.

3. A last having a forepart, a removable heel'block engaging the rear counter portion 5. In a last, a forepart, a heel plate having substantially the contour of the counter portion of a last, and a heel block removable from the shoe and from said heel plate while the latter remains in the shoe in position to hold the forepart under lasting pressure therein.

6. A last having a forepart, a heel member hinged to said forepart, and a removable heel block, constructed and arranged to engage the rear counter portion of the shoe.

7 7. In a .last a forepart, a strut member extending from said forepartto the counter portion of the shoe and aheel block rigidly attached to said forepart and'removable to expose that portion of the insole in which the heel nails are driven in the heeling op- "eration.

8. In a last, a forepart, a strut member extending from said forepart to the counter portion of the shoe, and a heel block rigidly 10 attached to the last and removable to expose a surface which is to be engaged bythe heeling machine during the heeling operation.

9. In a last a forepart, a heel shaped rim' attached to said forepart, and a heel block rigidly attached to the last and removable to I 15 

